Fire control apparatus



May 29, 1956 A. VOlGT 2,747,933

I FIRE CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENiOR. AL 5527' Vols! Arrow/5y May 29, 1956 A. VOIGT 2,747,933

FIRE CONTROL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11 1955 7 INVENTOR. 41052.7 V0167 ATTOR/VAY Unite The present invention relates to fire control apparatus and, more particularly, has reference to. a device of this nature which is adapted to be connected to the outlet ends of a pair of fire hoses, and pushed into a burning structure for the purpose of flooding the interior of the structure with a substantial quantity of water.

It is well appreciated in the fire control field that the problem of bringing stubborn blazes under control, in the shortest possible period of time, remains a serious one. Heretofore, various types of nozzles or spray heads have been devised, for attachment to the outlet ends of fire hoses, but these have not proved entirely satisfactory in every instance, due to the fact that they do not effect a sufficiently heavy discharge of water, in a minimum amount of time and over the greatest possible area. The present invention aims to obviate the difiiculties that have heretofore been experienced, through the provision of a device of the general nature referred to which will be so designed as to insure a maximum distribution of water in a comparatively short period of time, within the particular area most seriously affected, such as a room of a building.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type stated that will be so designed as to permit two full size fire hoses to be connected to the inlet end thereof, thereby to double the capacity of the device, over and above the capacity of previous devices heretofore conceived for the same purpose.

Another object is to provide a device of the nature referred to which will be so designed as to cause the water to be distributed in all directions from the same, under substantial pressure and at great speed.

Another object of importance is to provide a distributing nozzle, the rotary portion of which will include a mushroom-like, foraminoushead freely rotatable upon a stationary portion of the device, the free rotation of the head being assured through the medium of a ball bearing or similar anti-friction means interposed between the relatively rotatable parts.

Another object of the invention is to include, as the means for effecting rotation of the head, a turbine member disposed in the path of water or other extinguishing liquid flowing through the apparatus, said turbine member being so bladed and being so connected to the foraminous head of the nozzle as to insure the highspeed rotation of the nozzle head with the turbine member.

Another object is to include a novelly designed head, turbine, bearing, and riser pipe structure, which will be comprised of parts readily connectable to or disconnected from one another, the ease of assembly and disassembly being intended to promote a resultant ease of maintenance or repair.

Another object is to include, in at least one form of the invention, means for effecting angular adjustments of the riser portion of the structure, relative to a floor surface on which the same is rollably supported, said adjustments facilitating the disposition of the distributing atent or spanner nut 18.

ice

head atselected elevations and locations within the rooms in which the conflagration is to be brought under control'.v

Yetanother object is to provide a distributing device as stated which can be pushed into a room on wheels, with the firemen remaining outside the range of the fire within therooin, the construction being adapted to allow the nozzlev to. be located where it will do the maximum amount of good, without, however, endangering the users. thereof.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawlugs, and to the. appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth- In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is aside elevational View of fire control apparatus formed in accordance with the present invention, aportion being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the head portion of the apparatus, taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 4'4 of Fig. 3'.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the rollable support of the apparatus, taken substantially on line 5-S of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the rollable support means, showing a modified form.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-5, designated generally by the reference numeral 10, there is provided a riser pipe 12 of substantial diameter extending approximately vertically, and integrally formed at its lower end with an L or laterally extended part I4. The outlet end of an elongated feed pipe 16 is detachably coupled to the L 14 by a coupling sleeve It will be understood, in this connection, that the feed pipe 16 can be so designed as to extend for any desired length, and it is in fact possible to secure to the inlet end of the riser any of a plurality of feed pipes difiering from one another as regards the length thereof. This increases measurably the versatility of the device, and allows it to be pushed to a desired location from another location many yards away, but of the range of the conflagration.

At its inlet end, the feed pipe 16 is connected by a coupling fitting to a Y-shaped connector 20 having con vergen't branches 22 adapted to be coupled to a pair of fire hoses shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2 and designated by the reference letter H. The fitting whereby the connector 20 is attached to the feed pipe has been designated at 24, and as will be readily observed, the arrangement allows two full size fire hoses to be linked operatively to a single nozzle 10, thus to concentrate a heavy supply of water at the outlet end of the nozzle, where said water can be distributed to a surrounding area in such a manner as to insure that the conflagration within said area will be rapidly brought under control.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, at its upper or outlet end the riser 12 is integrally formed with an outwardly directed, annular flange 26 formed with equidistantly spaced, smooth-walled apertures registering with corresponding apertures of an annular flange 28, overlying the flange 26 and disposed in contact therewith. Connecting bolts 30 extend through the registering apertures of the flanges, thus to attach to the riser a cylindrical support sleeve 32 arranged coaxially with and above the outlet end of the riser, the flange 23 being integrally formed upon the lower end of said support sleeve.

At its upper end, the support sleeve is formed with an inwardly directed circumferential shoulder 34 on which is rotatably supported a hollow, globular head 36 having discharge ports 33 spaced over its entire area. Head 36 is cast or otherwise formed integrally with a depending, cylindrical neck 40 having intermediate its ends a downwardly facing, external shoulder contacting the shoulder 34 of the support sleeve.

Neck 40 of the head 36 extends downwardly within the support sleeve, and interiorly of said sleeve is externally threaded at 44 for engagement with complementary internal threads provided on the upstanding, annular lip 46 of a turbine member. A ball bearing includes a retainer ring 48 engaged against the underside of the shoulder 34, to provide a race for a series of ball elements 50. Ball elements 50 are supported between the retainer ring and an outwardly directed flange 52 formed upon the turbine member. The turbine member includes, in addition to the flange 52 and the lip 46, a series of depending blade support arms 54 extending in parallelism with the axis of rotation of the head and spaced uniformly about said axis. The arms 54, at one end thereof, are secured fixedly to the inner surface of the flange 54, and at their other ends are connected integrally to turbine blades 56. Blades 56 can be of generally oval outer configuration, as shown, and are preferably pitched not only in planes tangential to the inner surface of the flange 52, but also in planes oblique to the direction of flow of liquid through the riser in the direction of the foraminous head 36. As a result of this arrangement, the blades will eifect rotational movement of said head, responsive to the exertion of pressure against the blades by the liquid flowing through the riser pipe. High speed rotation of the head will be provided, due to the heavy pressure of the water and the fact that the flow of the two full size fire hoses is combined for passage through the riser pipe.

The entire device is rollably supported, thus to facilitate its being pushed into position. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5, a flat, vertically disposed plate 58 is welded or otherwise fixed to the riser pipe, at the location of the L 14 thereof, and depends from the riser pipe. The plate 58 has an opening 60 at the lower end thereof, and rotatable within said opening is a shaft or axle 62 provided at its opposite ends with supporting-surface-engaging wheels 64. Set collars 66 are connected to the midlength portion of the axle, and engage the opposite faces of the plate, thus to hold the riser pipe against movement toward either wheel from its assigned position midway between the wheels.

The entire device can be pivotally rotated about the axis represented by the shaft 62, in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. This facilitates the lowering of the head as necessary, for the purpose of clearing obstructions when the device is being rolled into position. Further, the construction allows the head to be angularly adjusted within a plane normal to the shaft 62, to a selected position found most desirable for controlling the direction of the several jets of water forced through the apertures 38. In other words, the riser can be swung out of its vertical position toward a horizontal position in a plane normal to the axis of axle 62, and can be tipped forwardly to an inclined position and frictionally held by means of plate 58 and shaft 62 in the position found most suitable to meet the needs of the particular situation.

In Figs. 6 and 7, there is shown a modified construction wherein the riser pipe is tiltable not only within a plane normal to the axis defined by the axle 62, but also within a plane normal to said first-named plane. In other words, the riser pipe can be swung not only in the direction of the length of the apparatus, but also, in a. direction transverse of the apparatus.

In this arrangement, the apparatus has been generally designated 68, and includes a riser 70 formed with an L 72. Fixed to the L is a depending upper plate member 74 having a hinge sleeve received between and coaxially aligned with hinge sleeve 78 of a lower plate member 80. A hinge pin 82 extends through the aligned hinge sleeve, and as a result the riser pipe is hinged for swinging movement about the axis of the pin, said axis being normal to and spaced from the axis defined by the shaft 62 passing through an aperture provided in the lower end of the plate member 80.

In this way, the riser pipe can be first swung in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 6, and can thereafter he swung in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 7, thus to mount the riser pipe for universal movement upon its rollable support. The versatility of the device is distinctly increased in this way. Of course, the adjustment can be effected from a location remote from the riser pipe, and can be determined by one or more men grasping the Y-shaped connector 20. Remote control of the adjustments becomes possible, since the fireman can swing the feed pipe upwardly or downwardly to obtain the first adjustment of the riser pipe and spray head, and then rotate the feed pipe to obtain the second adjustment, with all adjustments being made from a location remote from the distributor head itself, that is, out of the danger area within which the spray head is to be disposed.

It is also thought to be an important characteristic of the invention that the feed pipe can be formed to a smaller inside diameter than the riser pipe, thus to secure increased velocity of the liquid traveling through the feed pipe, with the result that the liquid will be forced at substantial speed through the riser pipe and into the distributing head of the device.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. Fire control apparatus comprising a riser pipe, means supporting the riser pipe for movement to a selected location at which a discharge of an extinguishing fluid is desired, a foraminous head on said riser pipe through which said fluid is forced, a feed pipe communicating with the riser pipe, said foraminous head being rotatable upon the riser pipe and having means associated therewith to effect rotary motion of the same responsive to the passage of water through the riser pipe, said means including a turbine fixed to the head and depending within the upper end portion of the riser pipe, the turbine comprising an annular flange rotating within the upper end portion of the riser pipe, a circumferential series of blade support arms depending from and rigid with said flange, and a series of pitched blades respectively connected to the blade support arms.

2. Fire control apparatus comprising a riser pipe, means supporting the riser pipe for movement to a selected location at which a discharge of an extinguishing fluid is desired, a foraminous head on said riser pipe through which said fluid is forced, a feed pipe communicating with the riser pipe, said foraminous head being rotatable upon the riser pipe and having means associated therewith to effect rotary motion of the same responsive to the passage of water through the riser pipe, said means including a turbine fixed to the head and depending within the upper end portion of the riser pipe, the turbine comprising an annular flange rotating within the upper end portion of the riser pipe, a circumferential series of blade support arms depending from and rigid with said flange, and a series of pitched blades respectively connected to the blade support arms, said blades each being of approximately oval outer configuration with each blade being pitched obliquely to the path of water flowing through the riser pipe and tangentially to the inner surface of the flange.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said foraminous head includes a neck and a flange portion, an inwardly directed shoulder on said riser pipe spaced from said flange portion, said neck being secured thereto, and ball bearings between said shoulder and flange to provide rotation of said head.

4. Fire control apparatus comprising a riser pipe, means supporting the riser pipe for movement to a selected location at which a discharge of an extinguishing fluid is desired, a foraminous head on said riser pipe through which said fluid is forced, a feed pipe communicating with the riser pipe, said riser pipe support means including a plate depending vertically from the riser pipe at one end of the riser pipe, a shaft having its midlength portion rotatably engaged in said plate, said shaft extending horizontally through the plate and projecting laterally of the riser pipe in opposite directions, and supporting-surface-engaging Wheels carried by the ends or" the shaft, said rotatable engagement of the shaft within the plate constituting means pivoting the riser pipe upon the shaft for swingable adjustment in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of said wheels, the plate comprising hingedly connected plate members one of which has tthe shaft extending therethrough and the other of which is rigid with the riser pipe, the hinge axis of the plate members extending normally to the axis of rotation of the wheels for effecting tiltable adjustments of the riser pipe within a plane normal to the first-named plane.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said shaft includes collar means engaging said plate at the midlength of said axle, and setscrews extending through said collar and engaging said shaft to prevent sidewise movement of the plate on the shaft.

6. Fire control apparatus comprising a riser pipe, means supporting the riser pipe for movement to a selected location at which a discharge of an extinguishing fluid is desired, a foraminous head on said riser pipe through which said fluid is forced, a feed pipe communicating with the riser pipe, and said riser pipe support means including a plate depending vertically from the riser pipe at one end of the riser pipe, a shaft having its midlength portion rotatably engaged in said plate, said shaft extending horizontally through the plate and projecting laterally of the riser pipe in opposite directions, and supportingsurface-engaging Wheels carried by the ends of the shaft, said rotatable engagement of the shaft within the plate constituting means pivoting the riser pipe upon the shaft for swingable adjustment in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of said wheels, the plate comprising hingedly connected plate members one of which has the shaft extending therethrough and the other of which is rigid with the riser pipe, the hinge axis of the plate members extending normally to the axis of rotation of the wheels for effecting tiltable adjustments of the riser pipe within a plane normal to the first-named plane, the first-named plane of adjustment of the riser pipe being aligned with the longitudinal center line of the apparatus and the second-named plane being extended transversely of the apparatus.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 181,614 Abbott Aug. 29, 1876 1,780,332 Brickhill Nov. 4, 1930 2,064,072 McArdle Dec. 15, 1936 2,110,044 Jarvis Mar. 1, 1938 2,231,422 Hoffman Feb. 11, 1941 2,293,796 Bestor Aug. 25, 1942 2,607,625 Salmonese Aug. 19, 1952 

